Stock Report: Grading how Tennessee’s NFL Combine participants performed

Mar 7, 2023 - 1:03 PM

The 2023 NFL Combine concluded on Sunday, and it resulted in a handful of Tennessee football players being at the center of attention. The Volunteers sent seven players to Indianapolis this year, and six of them were able to perform on-field drills.

We gave a preview of what to expect and what to look for last week, and now we give our take on what transpired over the weekend. Overall, it was a very good few days for former Tennessee players...with one notable exception.

We break down five of the six participants in this piece, as the sixth was punter Paxton Brooks. Sorry, I don’t know much about how punters should look at the combine.

Note: The Relative Athletic Score (RAS) we cite is on a scale of 1-10.

DE Byron Young: Stock UP

Arguably no one on this list helped their stock more than Byron Young. Young had a fantastic combine, ranking 1st in the broad jump, 2nd in the 40-yard dash, and 2nd in the vertical jump amongst defensive linemen. His Relative Athletic Score (RAS) is a tremendous 9.82, and in general he had a much better combine performance than anyone expected.

There is one small caveat which applies to Young: His positional future has serious questions after the weekend. While the testing numbers were great, he also had somewhat surprising measurements—and not in a good way. His height and arm length are both poor for the defensive end position, and it could certainly put a ceiling on his draft potential if a team is looking at him as a defensive end.

That being said, it’s not out of the question for him to take on more of an outside linebacker role in the NFL. It would certainly be an adjustment, but what he showed this past weekend could give teams some confidence in his future. I think it will ultimately come down to where a team sees Young contributing and how much of a risk they’re willing to take. Do you draft him as a defensive end and hope his athleticism powers him to a starting position? Or do you draft him as an outside linebacker and trust your staff to coach him up?

WR Jalin Hyatt: Stock DOWN

The main discussion about Hyatt’s somewhat disappointing combine will be around his 40-yard dash time. Hyatt clocked a 4.4 flat. It seems crazy to think that was a “bad” time, but it needs some context. Hyatt himself thought he would be closer to a 4.3 mark, and there were a few analysts who expected as much.

While Hyatt didn’t reach that lofty number, it’s still important to remember that his time was the 6th best of all wide receivers and is perfectly acceptable for his size. Then you add in the fact that he had fantastic testing numbers on the broad jump (1st overall) and the vertical jump (4th overall), and Hyatt did what he needed to do to validate his athletic profile.

So why is his stock down? Hyatt had a rougher than anticipated catching session with the quarterbacks. He had a couple of bad drops and looked out of sync with the passers. Obviously in a setting like this, they will not expect the players to have perfect chemistry. But any time you start dropping some easy catches, you’re going to have to answer more questions later on. That’s especially true when a point of concern is how polished you are at a position.

Hyatt’s day was then capped off by an early exit after he felt tightness in his hamstring.

Hyatt hasn’t dropped into the late rounds or anything like that. However, I think it’s more likely that he will have to wait until Day 2 to hear his name called. Before the combine, we discussed how Hyatt was fighting for a first round spot. After last week’s performance, that’s probably a lofty goal. He still has Tennessee’s Pro Day to quiet some doubters.

WR Cedric Tillman: Stock UP

Tillman’s numbers have put him firmly into “Steal of the Draft” territory. His 37 inch vertical and 10’8” broad jump were both great for his size, and his time of 4.54 in the 40-yard dash is solid. His RAS is a 9.55 out of 10, which backs up a lot of what we saw from Tillman in 2021. He also had a comparatively better day in the pass catching portion than fellow receiver Jalin Hyatt.

If Tillman had left the combine having disappointed in any athletic test or on-field session, I probably would have put him at neutral. But that didn’t happen. Tillman backed up the numbers and reiterated what made him such an interesting prospect from a couple years ago. The closer we get to draft time, the more I think you’ll hear Tillman’s name circulated as an option in the first two or three rounds.

QB Hendon Hooker: N/A

Hooker did not complete any drills at the combine. However, he did reportedly get some good news on his medical checks.

OT Darnell Wright: Stock UP

We mentioned in our pre-combine piece that Darnell Wright had momentum on his side heading into the combine. He did nothing to slow down that momentum, posting impressive numbers in the broad jump and 40-yard dash. Simply put, Wright needed a good showing to prove he had the athleticism required of a long-term tackle in the NFL. I think he did a good job of displaying it at the combine.

LB Jeremy Banks: Stock NEUTRAL

Banks didn’t affect his draft stock one way or the other. He did have a pretty decent testing portion, where he posted good times in both the vertical and broad jumps, as well as the 40-yard dash.

But Banks didn’t measure up. Literally. His listed height/weight of 6-foot-1 and 232 pounds are small, relative to others at the position. The bottom line is that Banks projects best at inside linebacker, but he’s smaller than the average league contributor. He also doesn’t have much more of a frame to bulk on. Banks has an uphill battle to be drafted, and that didn’t change after last weekend.